Friday, February 22, 2008

Under the heading of better late than never, I've finally ironed out the rankings in my (previously alphabetical) top ten list and given out the medals in all 3,079 FiLM BiTCH categories. I'm exaggerating on the numbers but sometimes it feels... excessive. (Yes, that's a nice way of putting it.) I often wish I didn't give medals at all because I always want to reevaluate or switch the colors later on. And really, it's a cliché but it's true: the nomination is the reward.

No Country For Old Men took home the most prizes (a medal in every category it was nominated in, friendo) but in the end I opted for Blood for my Best Picture prize. There will be gold medals.

It's peculiar how years go. Last year my two favorites were Marie Antoinette and Volver -hardly consensus choices. For what it's worth, I might switch their gold and silver status if I had it to do over again but neither of them were widely awarded and acclaimed films. This year my top two also happened to be the critical consensus. Funny how it's so much easier for the indisputably "masculine" movies to win mass critical favor, isn't it?"I wonder why that is?", he asks facetiously...

See TFE's own awards starting with best pictureHow many medals for each film? the final talliesReaders choice polls were also closed and you can see your communal Oscar favorites here. You win a gold star on your forehead for loving Tilda Swinton as much as me but a slap on the wrist for not rallying for Darling Julie.

Predictions from the participants in the Oscar Symposium are finally all posted and completeAnd if you're just joining us, my final Oscar Predictions are here*

Interesting point about unlikeable male characters getting more awards traction (Blood, NCFOM) than unlikeable female characters (Margot). I remember you brought up that point in the Oscar discussion symposium you conducted with fellow bloggers, and basically no one really responded to your question. I guess it just comes down to "sexism", and as one of my college professors said lo these many years ago, in our culture anger is the only emotion that it's ok for men to have and the only one that women are not supposed to have.

Nat, btw is there any way I can send you a (tiny) donation directly? (I'm not a poor college student but a poor working stiff who still loves your site.) Paypal is giving me fits and I (supposedly) have an account with it!

Oh, these are HOT. You are a god. I already mentioned this on your other post cuz I was so orgasmic about them. Beautiful variety, and Ratatouille for the best scene of the year? I will give you all the money in the world to stay running forever.

anon 7:28 it never happens like that. ;) it'll be a weird night. although i should probably say that I'm not that passionate about some of my gold medalists in that i don't really love them more than the silver medalists... that kinda year.

amanda ah thanks.

anon 7:53 --well they got a scene mention in action sequence, opening, and ending... what was your favorite scene in the film?

It's pretty sweet that Nat's gold medalists might actually WIN all the big 6 categories. Well, except best pic, but that will be the silver medalist, which is close enough (considering how these things usually go).

I'm just so excited for you and can't wait to see what you say about it if No Country, the Coens, Day-Lewis, Christie, Bardem and Swinton win.

And I love them all, too... though I'm not quite as big on Javier Bardem as some (in general, YES, just not in this).

I also don't quite understand the gold medal for TWBB in cinematography. I thought if it won it would only be because of a Deakins split. But apparently you think it deserves to beat both Dekins films put together. Elaborate...?

erm, that's the other problem - every time I've ever tried to email you it bounces right back to me (wtf?)

So glad you included Ratatouille in your best scenes but I'm surprised it wasn't amoung line readings. Nothing hit me this year like the critic (Peter O'Toole's) entire review/speech but especially "...It rocked me to my core."

in terms of the cinematography... i don't have any "overdue" issues with Deakins since he would've already won an Oscar by now if I were in charge (for FARGO probably) and the lighting in THERE WILL BE BLOOD just really moved me... I thought it was so powerful and varied and subtle but all of a piece. anyway... I'm a big Elswit fan obviously since he's been nominated several times with me

Also, when did you start loving Blanchett more than Charlotte Gainsborough?? You made a big deal of how you preferred the former back when the film came out... I was not expecting a medal for Blanchett.

1. I'd argue that Volver did achieve mass critical favor, or as mass as could happen in that bizarelly divisive year (wierd how the epic sweeps of Whitaker and Mirren occured then). Ditto something like Far From Heaven, which I doubt anyone would term masculine. As for Marie-Antoinette, I'm really not going to engage in that argument again.

2. According to your tally, both There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men had 100% win rates.

3. Has a film medaled for best picture without a director's nod in the past? I wrote off Once in my mental arithmetic based on that (and yeah, I was really rooting for 4 Months.. to medal. Such a fantastic movie). Oh, the power of the musical on Nathaniel. So, does anyone here dislike Once? It's a little lonely over here.

1. i don't think Volver did. It didn't win a ton of awards outside of the Spanish Oscars... a lot of people shrugged it off "yeah, it's good. NEXT" like it was completely minor Almodovar (a mistake. it gets better every single time I see it... and I definitely think it's stronger than Bad Education) it didn't get nominated for the Oscar. etcetera. and far from heaven was also only a minor success with Oscar. Nothing like what There Will Be Blood accomplished even though There Will Be Blood is in some ways just as weird. But it's masculine.

I don't know. I stand by my belief that if a film feels feminine, it's a tougher sell for acclaim.

Shortbus also medalled without a director nod --i just looked it up. I always like to challenge people to do their own awards because it really gives you sympathy for the academy... you look back on so many years and so many intracies of who did or didn't get things or who got too much or what have you and it is totally confusing and makes you second guess yourself.

It would have really helped me to see 4 Months again... but such is the sorry state of foreign film distribution that I'm almost never able to see them twice before I vote

Volver does indeed get better with every viewing, whereas Bad Education feels more and more stale each time (and as a gay man, it pains me to say that). Volver really finds wonder in the ordinary. I think it should've been your #1 last year. I think it's mine (though I give myself months and months of time to figure it out... hee).

The main reason I regret Volver not being your #1 film is that Almodóvar has never hit #1 with you... even in the years of All About My Mother and Talk to Her... and now he might never! You missed your chance ; )

arkaan, you have my support. I dislike Once (trite trite trite) and I felt 4 Months was richer and more riveting than just about all of the medalists put together

nate has my support on the feminine-movies-have-to-claw-their-way-to-critical-acclaim point and also on Volver being the best picture of 2006 *and* being ludicrously underrated *and* improving with every viewing (it cracked my all-time Top 100 with my most recent). That said, I disagree with roughly 96% of the medals. So there!

I definitely agree that Volver gets better ever time you see it. I really liked it and respected it the first time, but since my 2nd viewing, it's flat-out BRILLIANT. Loved it. But I still think Marie Antoinette is better. :)

It also feels wierd to have a Film Bitch ceremony the year of a Lars von Trier film (The Boss of it All) and not have that mentioned somewhere.

I consider oscar separate from acclaim in general(they rarely actually reflect the most acclaimed films in any given year), so I don't think Far From Heaven's failure to get tonnes of oscar recognition really. That said, I wonder if I'd agree with you if I felt that Volver wasn't minor Almodovar (I think it is through and through, and I think Bad Education is a masterpiece) or if I felt Marie Antoinette was anything other than one of the decade's worst films.